Shame Day: The Sochi Olympics

I have this weird thing where I actually really love crowds, so if I was in Sochi right now I would be all up in the Olympic excitement. And of course as a Canadian I’m particularly excited to be a winner in something sporty, even if my association with winning is only via my citizenship.

That being said, I’m going to have to pull a Debbie Downer here and remind everyone of all the crap that has happened in Russia as a direct result of the Olympics.

You may have already heard that members of the controversial protest group, Pussy Riot, were whipped and beaten by some of the Cossack militia while trying to film part of their new music video. Apparently the Cossack militia are “helping” police patrol Sochi during the winter games. I’ve included a clip of the incident below.

The first time I heard about victims of forced evictions (especially those who did not receive compensation) was in the Vice documentary that I linked to above. While “officially” evicted citizens are being relocated or compensated, in reality many say they have been “cheated out of fair compensation by a bureaucratic loophole.”

“the dumping of illegal construction waste and the construction of power lines have resulted in landsides, causing homes to sink and partially collapse, threatening residents’ health and safety. In one village, Olympic construction destroyed local drinking wells, leaving villagers with no reliable drinking water source for years.”

5) Anti-LGBT discrimination

This is perhaps the most visible human rights violation happening in Russia. In his “Boycott Russia” post this past August, Gordon shared an article that reports “A recent poll found that nearly half of Russians believe that the gay and lesbian community should not enjoy the same rights as other citizens.”

According to the official Olympic website, the point of the games is to “help build a better world through sport practiced in a spirit of peace, excellence,
friendship and respect.” In light of those goals, it seems counterproductive to select countries where human rights are going to be violated for the sake of the games.

What do you think? Should the Olympics have taken place in Sochi? Or should it have been held elsewhere? If so, where? Are our home countries really even that much better?